Man City icon left red-faced after Erling Haaland prediction – ‘teams have worked him out’
Manchester City goal machine Erling Haaland continued his stunning goalscoring form on Sunday, November 2.
Man City beat Bournemouth 3-1 in the Premier League, as Haaland scored twice to take his tally up to 17 at club level in just 13 matches.
The 25-year-old was unstoppable once more at the Etihad Stadium, utilising his pace, power and ruthless finishing to storm past the Cherries.
Victory for Pep Guardiola against Andoni Iraola’s side moved them back into second, with Haaland’s goals crucial to Man City’s title chances.
Arsenal currently have a six-point advantage over the Cityzens, yet keeping the Norwegian fit and firing will pose a devastating threat to their chances of winning the league.
Stuart Pearce predicted Erling Haaland to score less than 30 goals in 2025/26
Haaland’s relentless consistency in front of goal is what makes him arguably the best striker on the planet alongside Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe.
Since completing his transfer from Borussia Dortmund in 2022, the City marksman has struck at least 30 goals in each campaign for the Premier League giants.
| Erling Haaland’s season-by-season record |
| 2022/23 (53 games, 52 goals) |
| 2023/24 (45 games, 38 goals) |
| 2024/25 (48 games, 34 goals) |
| 2025/26 (13 games, 17 goals*) |
Haaland is already on track to beating, or at least coming close to smashing his record of 52 goals in a single campaign as he’s already on 17 and we’re only at the start of November.
Yet, before the campaign kicked off, former Manchester City player and manager Stuart Pearce didn’t think he would break the 30-goal mark.
“Have defenders worked Haaland out? I think when you come in fresh and defenders haven’t seen you, I think it’s slightly easier for strikers. I think he’ll be in the 20s next year. There’s no doubt about that. But I’m not sure he’ll be as free scoring as he was,” Pearce said on behalf of the CLUB.
“Teams look at him and you think we need to deny him the room behind our back line as well,” he continued. “I say, coaches, managers and defenders have got clued up with him. They work players out.
“So I think year on year, it’s going to be tougher and tougher for him to score as readily as he has done in the stand. So, yeah, and a lot of that relies on how well the team do behind him. They’ve got to create for him, that is for sure.”
It’s ‘impossible’ to stop Haaland
Haaland is in the best form of his Man City career, and he’s already admitted he’s in the best shape of his life.
That is why we’re witnessing some ridiculous numbers from the goal-machine, who is ‘impossible’ to stop once he gets motoring, according to Bournemouth winger David Brooks.
“In the first half, we created a lot of opportunities for ourselves through the press but the big man up top for them – Erling Haaland – is always going to be a threat,” Brooks said after the game.
“It’s almost impossible to prepare to face him. He is 6ft 5in, he is strong and he is a massive threat when the ball is falling to him. He took his chances well.”
It also helps that City are no longer afraid to play the ball long, and that is why Haaland exploited Bournemouth’s high line and will continue to punish defences that press high.